WEBVTT BRET: WITHOUT THESE NEW CROSSINGGATES AND SOME MEDIANS, TRAINSHAD NO CHOICE BUT TO USE ITSWARNING.THAT HORN GETS PRETTY LOUD, BUTTHAT COULD SOON CHANGE.IT'S LOUD AND CLEAR DURING THEDAY, TRAINS GOING THROUGHDOWNTOWN OKLAHOMA CITY ON THEBURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FELINE.YOU CAN EVEN HEAR THE HORN AT2:00 IN THE MORNING, AS YOU HEARIN THIS CELL PHONE VIDEO.SOME WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THEDOWNTOWN WANT IT TO STOP NOW, ASONE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING SENTNOTICE TO ITS TENANTS,ENCOURAGING THEM TO CALL THECITY AND BNSF TO EXPEDITE THEPROCESS OF MAKING WHERE THEYLIVE A QUIET ZONE.>> WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE DRIVINGTHROUGH THERE WHEN THEY'RE NOTBLOWING THE HORN.THAT'S WHY WE HAD TO INSTALL ALLOF THESE SAFETY FEATURES.BRET: SHANNON COX WITH PUBLICWORKS SAYS THE CITY HAS BEENLOOKING TO CHANGE THAT SINCE2008.IN THE LAST YEAR, THE CITYINSTALLED NEW CROSSING GATES, ASWELL AS NEW MEDIANS AT CERTAININTERSECTIONS, TO COMPLY WITHFEDERAL SAFETY GUIDELINES AT ACOST OF ALMOST $4 MILLIOCRYSTAL: THERE IS --BRET: THEREIS SOME GOOD NEWS HERE.FEDERAL REGULATORS ARE LOOKINGAT THE APPLICATION.BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THIS

A “quiet zone” allowing trains to move through a section of downtown Oklahoma City without sounding a horn will take effect early March.

According to officials, the Federal Railway Administration approved a “quiet zone” in downtown Oklahoma City that will allow trains to move through the urban core without sounding a horn at downtown intersections. The quiet zone takes effect Feb. 28, but it could take about 48 hours before railroad operators’ automated systems are fully updated.

The quiet zone runs for about three miles between Southeast 23rd Street and Northeast 16th Street. Within that zone, all railroad intersections with city streets have been rebuilt to include additional safety and traffic control elements that allow locomotives to pass through without sounding horns.

Typically, train operators sound a locomotive’s horn as they approach intersections as an advance audio warning to drivers and pedestrians. Improvements within quiet zones make this unnecessary unless there’s an emergency, like something blocking the railroad tracks, according to city officials.